The Chess Players is a historical novel based on the life of Paul Morphy, who is considered to have been the first world chess champion and possibly the strongest chess player in the history of the game. Paul Charles Morphy was born on June 22, 1837 in New Orleans Louisiana. His father was Alonzo Morphy. His mother was Louise Thérèse Felicite Thelcide Le Carpentier. He learned the moves of chess simply by watching his uncle and father play. Nobody taught him the rules. By age 9 he was regarded as the best player in New Orleans. By age 21 he was regarded as the best chess player in the world.

This is a comprehensive study of all games, board games, card games, strategy games, children's games and sporting games such as baseball. What is the history of games? Why do people play games? The authors, Elliott Morton Avedon and Brian Sutton-Smith are recognized authorities on the study of games. Elliott Morton Avedon is the author of “Therapeutic Recreation Service: An Applied Behavioural Approach”. Brian Sutton-Smith is focused on children's games, adult games, children's play, children's drama, films and narratives, as well as children's gender issues and sibling position. Brian Sutton-Smith is the author of some 50 books and some 350 scholarly articles on games.

Skat and Sheepshead are card games popular in Germany but not as well known in the United States. They are trick-taking games, bearing some similarities to bridge. Bridge players sometimes play these games as a pass-time.

Contract Bridge Blue Book is, without doubt, the most famous book on the Game of Contract Bridge ever written. It is a landmark work, mentioned in every book on the history of bridge. As a result of the success of this work, the Culbertson Bidding System was the most popular system the world. Ely Culbertson had a nationwide syndicated column on bridge that was carried in hundreds of newspapers daily.

This book, "Ken Uston on Blackjack", is primarily concerned with the legal efforts Ken made to stop the casinos from banning card counters. Legal actions were brought in his name against the casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, New Jersey to stop them from banning card counters. The end result of these legal actions was that they were unsuccessful in Las Vegas but successful in Atlantic City. The Las Vegas Casinos still can and do ban card counters. The original edition of this book contains almost no information about how to win at Blackjack. Therefore a section has been added to explain what you really want to know, which is how we were able to win some money playing Blackjack.

This is the most talked-about book on the Blackjack scene. This book has sold more copies since it's initial release than any other gaming book. Prior to this new edition there was no foolproof way to learn how to play Blackjack accurately. This is the only Blackjack book that is easy to understand and completely accurate, written for the beginner or for the expert player.

This is a reprint of the famous book, "The Big Player", mentioned on the History Channel and news reports showing how a team of blackjack players made millions of dollars at the expense of Las Vegas Casinos.

Million Dollar Blackjack is the second of several books written by Ken Uston on Blackjack. You may wonder why he needed to write several books on the same subject. Was he like a chess grandmaster who publishes accurate analysis but who holds back a few secrets and sets traps for the unwary reader to fall into should he ever face the grandmaster in a tournament game? Most readers probably assumed that they were playing the system described by Edward Thorp in his book 'Beat the Dealer".

This book is a collection of famous or historic bridge hands played by some of the best or most famous players in the world at that time. It is not intended to be a book of basic instruction. The authors are masters at both chess and bridge.

This book describes the Standard American bidding system. Although still the most widely known system, there have been a proliferation of bidding systems. The reader should be prepared to play under other systems.

Renju, as the game is known in Japanese or Lianzhu in Chinese, is a modified and improved version of the ancient game of Five-in-a-Row, also known by its Japanese name of Gomoku. The reason it was necessary to modify the basic game of Five-in-a-Row is that in the traditional game, the player of the first move has such a big advantage that he will win every, or almost every, game.

Go is the easiest game in the world to learn, but the hardest game in the world to master. This book is intended for beginners but it provides the basic strategies used by the most advanced, top level professional players. Get through this book from beginning to end, and you will be on your way to Meijin.

This is book is for anyone who has ever tried to match wits with a computer in chess, bridge, or any other game requiring long-range strategy and studied decisions. If you're not a pro, chances are you've been defeated by a machine - and impressed at its uncanny ability to outmaneuver humans. In Computer Gamesmanship, David Levy, an International Chess Master and producer of intelligent computer games, unravels the mysteries of how computers successfully mimic strategic thinking and play complex games.

Computer Games II is the second volume in a two-part compendium of papers covering the most important material available on the development of computer strategy games. These selections range from discussions of mathematical analysis of games, to more qualitative concerns of whether a computer game should follow human thought processes rather than a brute force approach, to papers which will benefit readers trying to program their own games.

Shogi is the Japanese variety of chess. It is the most popular board game in Japan. The main added feature is that a captured piece becomes a member of the opposing army and can be dropped back into the game later on. This book is by far the best and the most advanced book ever written in the English language about shogi.

Computer Games I is the first volume in a two-part compendium of papers covering the most important material available on the development of computer strategy games. These selections range from discussions of mathematical analysis of games, to more qualitative concerns of whether a computer game should follow human thought processes rather than a "brute force" approach, to papers which will benefit readers trying to program their own games.

This is THE BOOK that every strong bridge player in the world has studied. Louis H. WATSON, the author of this book, was rated as one of the ten outstanding Bridge players in the world by all experts and authorities.

This book, Sam Loyd's Cyclopedia of 5,000 Puzzles Tricks and Conundrums with Answers, was compiled by his son and published in 1914 after his death. Although many books have been written about some of Loyd's puzzles, this remains the most complete volume of all of his puzzles. This is considered to be the most fabulous and exciting collection of puzzles ever assembled in one volume. The puzzles come with wonderful illustrations.

This book, "Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Vol. 1", was Sakata's first book published in English. It is now regarded as a classic in Go literature. It is also the first book published by The Ishi Press. Published in 1968, this book along with two follow-up volumes by Sakata Eio, made The Ishi Press the world's leading publisher on the game of go. The cover photo of this book is historic. It shows the three leading go players in the world at that time, plus the strongest female go player in the world at that time.

This book, "The Middle Game of Go" or "Chubansen", first published in 1971, was Sakata's third book published in English, the first being "Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Vol. 1" and the second being "Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Vol. 2, The Opening Theory of Go". These volumes are now regarded as a classics in Go literature.

When you think of chess, you probably think of the strategy game played throughout Europe and the Americas. There is another kind of chess played throughout the world by probably more people than any other strategy game. That game is Chinese Chess. The "Elephant Game" as it is called by the Chinese, dates back more than 2000 years.

For your purchasing Consideration, we have a random game book! We have a very limited number of these books available on a first come, first serve basis.
You will receive one of four game books - Starting Out in Poker, Starting Out in Backgammon, Improving Your Backgammon, or Starting Out in Bridge
Please contact us if you would like a specific book, but please note that a specific selection is not guaranteed.

H.O. from ND writes, "Received my beautiful ebonized Winsor chess set today. It is awesome. A work of art I will treasure & play with. I can't wait to save up enough for my House of Staunton chess board."

Home of the World's Finest Chess Pieces, Chess Sets and Chess Boards

Welcome to the official website of House of Staunton, The House of Staunton has firmly established itself as the gold standard by which all chess pieces, chess sets and chess boards are judged. All of our luxury chess products, including our chess pieces, chess sets and chess boards, have been produced with the discerning chess collector in mind. We adhere to the highest quality standards and our master artisans handcraft our chess sets, chess pieces and chess boards out of such luxurious materials as Porcelain, Camel Bone, Genuine Ebony, Walnut Burl and fossilized 40,000 year-old Wooly Mammoth Ivory. We invite you to indulge yourself and discover what countless other Chess enthusiasts know - The House of Staunton offers the finest Chess pieces, chess sets and chess boards - bar none!

Why settle for less when you can own a legendary Chess Sets and Board from the House of Staunton!